What’s The Best TV Crime Series From Each Country Around The World?

Visit police departments around the world with Decider's list of the best crime shows from each country, ranked according to their IMDB scores.

Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

Argentina: El MarginalIMDB Score: 8.5/10
This series follows an ex-cop who goes undercover in a California prison in order to infiltrate the gang that kidnapped a judge's daughter.
[Stream El Marginal]

Photo: Netflix

Australia (TIE): City Homicide and Top of the LakeCity Homicide IMDB Score: 7.6/10Top of the Lake IMDB Score: 7.6/10
From 2007-2011, City Homicide ran on Australian television as a standard procedural about the homicide unit at the Melbourne police headquarters. Top of the Lake, however, follows Detective Robin Griffin as she solves two different murders (one in each season) that end up hitting much closer to home than she could have ever imagined.
[Stream City Homicide]
[Stream Top of the Lake]

Photo: Hulu

Belgium: Hotel Beau SéjourIMDB Score: 8.0/10
A young woman, Kato, wakes up to find her own body in a hotel bath tub, but despite being dead, a few people can still see her. Kato enlists these people to help her discover the truth surrounding her death, but the group soon learns much more.
[Stream Hotel Beau Séjour]

Photo: Netflix

Britain: SherlockIMDB Score: 9.2/10
Sherlock Holmes is pretty much a crime-solving legend, and Benedict Cumberbatch's modern-day interpretation of the detective certainly does him justice. This award-winning British series follows the the greatest detective in the world and his partner Watson as they uncover some of Britain's most intricate crimes.
[Stream Sherlock]

Chile: ProfugosIMDB Score: 8.3/10 HBO enters the best international crime show mix with Profugos, a Chilean series that follows four men as they go on the run after a drug deal goes bad.
[Stream Profugos]

Photo: HBO

China: The DisguiserIMDB Score: 7.7/10 Secret Agent Ming Tai and his brother Ming Lao battle Japanese occupiers in an attempt to assert Chinese dominance in this thrilling political crime drama.
[Stream The Disguiser]

Photo: Netflix

Colombia: NarcosIMDB Score: 8.9/10 Netflix's drug-filled Original Series, Narcos, follows the world of drug cartels in Colombia and their ripple effect across the world. The series is a cat and mouse chase between boss Pablo Escobar, his enemies, the Colombian government, and the Americans, and it's a battle that no one really wins.
[Stream Narcos]

Photo: Netflix

Cuba: Four Seasons in HavanaIMDB Score: 8.3/10 Lieutenant Mario Conde solves crime, dates beautiful women, and navigates the corruption of the island's political system during Cuba's chaotic Special Period.
[Stream Four Seasons in Havana]

Photo: Netflix

Finland: BordertownIMDB Score: 8.2/10
This Netflix Original follows Detective Inspector Kari, an officer who moves to a quiet border town near Russia after his wife nearly dies of brain cancer. Kari wants to retire from police work, but he's forced to get back in the saddle when he realizes that the town isn't so peaceful after all.
[Stream Bordertown]

Photo: Netflix

France: The Returned (Les Revenants)IMDB Score: 8.2/10
This Emmy-winning series follows a small French town where dead people keep coming back to life, completely unaware that they've died. As the citizens of the town try to figure out what's happening, they unravel a seemingly never-ending string of mysteries, including one particularly gruesome murder.
[Stream The Returned]

Iceland: CaseIMDB Score: 7.4/10 After a teenager is found hanged in a local theater, Detective Gabríela begins looking into the mysterious situation surrounding her death. However, as Gabríela digs for the truth, she discovers information that could rock the small Icelandic town.
[Stream Case]

Ireland: The FallIMDB Score: 8.2/10 Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland (which is technically part of the UK, but semantics), this crime drama follows Superintendent Stella Gibson as she attempts to track down a serial killer tormenting the city.
[Stream The Fall]

Israel: FaudaIMDB Score: 8.4/10 This complex Netflix Original depicts the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from two sides. The series centers on Doron, an Israeli Special Forces commander hunting down Hamas terrorist Abu-Ahmed. On the other side of the conflict, in Palestine, Abu-Ahmed denies the validity of the State of Israel and will do whatever it takes to win back his country.
[Stream Fauda]

Photo: Netflix

Italy: Suburra: Blood on RomeIMDB Score: 8.5/10 Netflix's newest Original Series is also the best crime show to come out of Italy.
[Stream Suburra]

Mexico: Sr AvilaIMDB Score: 8.6/10 Sr. Avila is your average family man, but he has a secret: he's a first-rate hit man, as well. When Avila decides to build an organization of contract killers, he's forced to cross the thin line between his regular life and his hidden one.
[Stream Sr Avila]

Photo: HBO

New Zealand: Top of the LakeIMDB Score: 7.6/10 Yes, Top of the Lake is on here twice, representing both Australia and New Zealand, but there's a reason. The first season focuses on the disappearance of Tui Mitchem, a young girl living in the rugged landscape of New Zealand's South Island, and it was shot entirely on location in Otago. In the second season, the location shifts to Sydney, Australia, where Detective Robin Griffin investigates the death of a sex worker.
[Stream Top of the Lake]

Norway: LilyhammerIMDB Score: 8.0/10 This series follows a former underboss in the American mafia who, after testifying against his former mob associates, must go into hiding in rural Norway.
[Stream Lilyhammer]

Romania: Comrade DetectiveIMDB Score: 7.3/10 This comedy-crime series spoofs Cold War propaganda that reminded citizens of the dangers of capitalism, no matter the situation. The Amazon Prime show follows detectives Gregor Anghel and Joseph Baciu as they investigate the death of a fellow officer. In the process, the two uncover a plot that could unravel the entire country of Romania.
[Stream Comrade Detective]

Russia: Silver SpoonIMDB Score: 7.8/10 After the son of a rich politician gets in trouble with the law, he's sent to work in the local police precinct as a punishment. His fellow police officers are wary of trusting such a brat, but the new hire begins earning their trust as he succeeds in his police work.
[Stream Silver Spoon]

Photo: Netflix

Scotland: ShetlandIMDB Score: 7.9/10 This critically-praised series centers around detective Jimmy Perez, a cop tasked with solving a muder mystery on the Shetland Isles. As Jimmy tries to solve the dark crimes around him, he must also fight off the darkness inside of him.
[Stream Shetland]

Photo: Netflix

South Korea: Bad GuysIMDB Score: 8.1/10 South Korea's best crime show asks a familiar question: who better to fight crime than a group of former criminals? In this series, law enforcement officials bring together a group of former criminals to assist in catching South Korea's real bad guys.
[Stream Bad Guys]

Photo: Netflix

Sweden: The BridgeIMDB Score: 8.6/10 After a body is found on a bridge spanning the Swedish-Danish border, detectives from each country must come together to find the killer before he strikes again.
[Stream The Bridge]

Photo: Hulu

Turkey: Behzat ÇIMDB Score: 8.8/10 A troubled, unlikable police chief battles with the bureaucratic and corrupt Ankara Police Force that so often prevents him from actually stopping crime in the city.
[Stream Behzat Ç]

Photo: Netflix

United States: Breaking BadIMDB Score: 9.5/10 After being diagnosed with cancer, a high school chemistry teacher begins making meth in order to provide for his family in this critically-acclaimed show. If you haven't seen Breaking Bad, stop what you're doing and watch it immediately.
[Stream Breaking Bad]

Wales: HinterlandIMDB Score: 7.6/10 This series follows Detective Mathias, a police officer who leaves the city
but is met by a surge of crime in his new home of Aberystwyth, Wales.
He soon starts to sort through a complicated series of murders all while guarding his own secrets.
[Stream Hinterland]

On Friday, Netflix premiered Suburra: Blood on Rome, their first Italian original series, and viewers are already addicted to the crime series. Suburra focuses on Rome’s seedy underbelly, a world in which politicians, drug lords, mafia men, and even members of the Catholic Church rub elbows in an attempt to gain power.

If this concept sounds interesting to you, you’re in luck. For the last 20 years, producers around the world have been cranking out TV crime series that are just as thrilling as Suburra. While many of these TV crime shows originally aired in their respective global markets (even those that are billed as Netflix Originals), the vast majority have made their way onto streaming platforms for viewers around the world to enjoy. In the world of the international crime show, every country brings something different to the table, whether it’s the Scandanavian commitment to realism, the feminist narratives of Australia, or the fusion of drama and comedy in South Korea.

So, whether you’re looking for a post-Suburra binge or are interesting in learning some Israeli slang, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve found the best crime shows and best crime series from each country available on streaming, according to their IMDB scores.

Unfortunately, not every country is represented in Decider’s list of the Best Crime Show From Each Country, because some shows have yet to air on streaming services–looking at you, Fobrydelsen (the Danish inspiration for The Killing). However, our list is certainly enough to provide crime drama fans with some high-quality alternatives to Law & Order: SVU. After all, why watch something mediocre when you can stream the best of the best from around the world?